For K-12 Teachers

Identifying Geometric Patterns in Quilts Lesson Plan

Identifying Geometric Patterns in Quilts aims to combine math and visual art concepts to enrich understanding of both. Students will practice visual analysis and pattern recognition skills in observation and discussion of quilts, refining their analysis and geometry skills by reproducing observed patterns and then creating their own. This lesson plan is flexible, with suggested simplifications and expansions based on grade level.

Grades K-3, 50-90 minutes, Visual Arts, Math

This unit can be used to support Nebraska and Common Core Standards for Visual Arts and Mathematics.

Click here to download the lesson plan PDF.

For the Love of Gaia: Art and Environmentalism

For the Love of Gaia: Art and Environmentalism is a flexible unit plan for teachers developed in collaboration with Lincoln Public Schools. The unit explores interconnections between art and the artist’s relationship with global issues such as environmentalism and climate change, and offers opportunities for examinations of art and science topics as well as research into current events. 

Grades 4-12, Visual Arts, Social Studies, Science 

This unit can be used to support Nebraska Standards for Fine Arts, Social Studies and Science.

Click here to access this unit plan.

At-Home Lessons

What is a Quilt? 

In this lesson, students will watch a video and complete a short activity exploring what makes a quilt a quilt and common styles of quilts, and identifying quilts and quilted fabrics in their own lives.

Grades K-4, Visual Arts 

This unit can be used to support Nebraska Standards for Fine Arts.

Click here to access this lesson.

Be a Curator

In this lesson, students will explore what it means to be a curator through a short video and reading about Rumi O’Brien’s story quilts before curating their own home exhibition.
Grades K-4, Visual Arts 

This unit can be used to support Nebraska Standards for Fine Arts and Language Arts.

Click here to access the lesson.

How do Quilts Get Their Names?

In this unit, students will explore the IQM archives using the website’s search function to identify common traditional quilt block patterns. They will also be encouraged to recreate their favorite, or design their own quilt block.
Grades 2-8, Visual Arts 

This unit can be used to support Nebraska Standards for Fine Arts.

Click here to access this lesson.

For questions about these materials, or inquiries into other lesson topics, please email Education Coordinator Lauren Holt at [email protected].

ReadWorks

The International Quilt Museum partnered with ReadWorks to create a series of quilt and history-focused reading lessons for Grades 2-6. You will need a free ReadWorks account to access the articles; the materials are presented in both text and audio formats. 

Modules include:

• Shapes in Quilts (Kindergarten)
• Stories in Quilts (Grade 1)
• What is a Quilt?/Quilt Basics (Grade2)
• Kinds and Uses of Quilts (Grade 3)
• Quilts in America (Grade 4)
• Quilts in Central Asia (Grade 4)
• Technology and Quilts (Grade 5)
• Quilting and Social Issues (Grade 6)
• African and African American Quiltmaking Traditions (Grade 7)
• Indigenous Quilting Traditions Around the World (Grade 8)

Exhibition-Based Activities

These activities were created to accompany some of the International Quilt Museum’s exhibitions. The virtual version of the exhibitions can still be accessed on our website for pictures of the quilts, context and further investigation.

Design Dynamics of Log Cabin Quilts
Coloring Sheet (all ages)
View the exhibition

Dualities: Emiko Toda Loeb
Coloring Book (all ages) 
View the exhibition

The Whole Story 
Coloring Book (ages 8+)
Connect the Dots Worksheet (ages 7+)
View the virtual exhibition 

Eiko Okano’s Delectable World
Coloring Sheet
View the exhibition 

Old World Quilts
Coloring Sheet (all ages)
View the exhibition 

Jean Ray Laury: Getting It All Together
"Magenta Forest" Coloring Sheet (all ages)
View the exhibition

Block by Block: American Quilts in the Industrial Age
"My Sweet Sister Emma" Coloring Sheet (all ages)
View the exhibition 

General Activities

Make a Patchwork Otedama (video tutorial)

My Quilt of Me Coloring Sheet (all ages)

Quilt Block Pattern Word Search (ages 9+)

"White Bison Star Quilt" by Lulu Red Cloud Coloring Sheet (all ages) View the quilt

World Quilts is a series of websites that offers in depth information about a range of quilts from various places around the world. Modules include:

• The American Story
• The Amish Story
• The Central Asian Story
• The Crazy Quilt Story

New modules are always in development, so check back regularly for more.

For high school and above.

What in the World do These Quilts Have in Common?

Curator of International Collections Marin Hanson presents five videos comparing quilts from the International Quilt Museum's growing international collection. Video length ranges from 2-4 minutes and the quilts in each video come from India, Russia, China, France, Central Asia, Japan and the United States.

Grades 6-12, Social Studies, Visual Arts 

This unit can be used to support Nebraska Standards FA 8.2.3, FA 8.2.4, SS 7.3.4, SS 6.4.4, SS 7.4.4 and SS 8.4.4

Click here to access these lessons.

Three Things About a World Quilt 

Curator of International Collections Marin Hanson presents seven videos examining design elements of pieces from the International Quilt Museum's growing international collection. Video length ranges from 8-24 minutes and topics explore historic and cultural influences on quilts from Central Asia, Pakistan, Japan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, Russia and the United States.

Grades 9-12, Social Studies, Visual Arts 

This unit can be used to support Nebraska Standard FA 12.2.3.a

Click here to access these lessons.

Every First Friday, a short presentation and activity aimed at student audiences will be available before the main First Friday program.

Coded Messages in Quilts

Watch the video

Activity Materials: Decoding activity sheet

In the video and activity sheet, explore coded messages in two quilts from the IQM collection, both included in the Modern Meets Modern exhibition. Learn more about the exhibition here.

Quilts as Memory Objects

Watch the video

Activity Materials: Memory Jar Activity Sheet

For more information about quilts that act as memory objects, visit these online exhibitions: Trying To Make Sense of It: 9/11, Loss, and Memorial Quilts; The Story Quilts of Rumi O'Brien; and Eiko Okano's Delectable World.

Quilts about Stories and Stories about Quilts

Watch the video

You can learn more about quilts and Russian folk tales at the online exhibition, Glasnost and Folk Culture. For video read-alouds of some of the books featured in this video, check out our virtual storytime playlist, available until September 1, 2021.

For this month's activity: Read a new book! Whether it's one of the stories in this video, a poem, a novel or a comic, we hope you find something you love. If you can join us in-person, more stories about quilts are available in the IQM's Ghormley Reading Room on the third floor.

Flag Quilts

Learn about flag quilts in the International Quilt Museum's collection and engage in a coloring activity based on Mary Maxtion's Stars and Stripes quilt.

Grades 3-12

Watch the video

Activity materials: Stripes and Stars Template | Mary Maxtion's Stars and Stripes quilt

Celebrating Nature

Take a look at some quilts that celebrate nature, and enjoy some fun facts in this short video presentation.

Grades K-12

Watch the video

Activity materials: Celebrate your favorite things about nature

Art and the Love of a Place 

Examine quilts that display the artist’s love of a place and share your own favorite place with friends and family through a short activity.

Grades K-12, Visual Arts 

Watch the video
This activity requires art materials of your choice

Quilts, War and Veterans 

Explore a selection of quilts created in response to war, sewn by soldiers and civilians alike.

Grades 4-12, Visual Arts, Social Studies 

Watch the video
Activity materials: Andrew Lee Quilts of Valor Connect the Dots, Madison Township Quilt Coloring Sheet

Technology and Trade 

Examine the influence of trade and technology on artistic trends in this presentation of selected quilts dated across 200 years of technological change.

Grades 4-12, Visual Arts, Social Studies 
Watch the video
Activity materials: Album Quilt Coloring Sheet

African American Quilts 

A short history of community, art and storytelling. This video provides an introduction to African American quilts and community quilting traditions. In addition to a history of quilts and quilters, topics touched on include the WPA slave narratives oral history project, the New Deal’s Tennessee Valley Authority public works program, the Civil Rights Movement, and more recent quilting developments such as 1980s narrative quilts and the Gee’s Bend quilting exhibitions of the early 2000s. The activity asks students to consider where they see art in their community, and what events in their lives they might want to record through art.

Grades 5-12, Visual Arts, Social Studies

Watch the video
Activity materials: Art in your community handout

Tributes and Protest Quilts: Women's History

In honor of women’s history month, this video examines quilts made to celebrate women’s accomplishments, women’s voices and women’s issues. Topics include famous women in history, commentary on feminist issues, and protest movements in support of women’s rights. The activity asks students to create their own quilt block honoring one of their favorite women in history.  

Grades 5-12, Visual Arts, Social Studies 

Watch the Video
Activity Materials: Quilt Block

Dynamic Shapes: Make Your Own Log Cabin Quilt Block Puzzle

Explore the design possibilities of log cabin quilt blocks at home with your own log cabin quilt block puzzle. This video introduces students to log cabin quilt blocks and some of the most common designs made with them. The video provides step-by-step instructions for making your own log cabin quilt block puzzle at home.

Grades 2-12, Visual Arts 

Watch the video
Activity materials: Log Cabin puzzle blocks and reference sheets 

Resist Dyeing around the World: Make your own resist-technique art at home

Learn about resist dye techniques around the world through quilts and make your own resist-based art using crayons and watercolors at home.

Grades 2-12, Visual Arts

Watch the video

For making these programs possible, we would like to thank the Mark and Diann Sorensen IQM Education and Outreach Fund, and give special recognition to the Cooper Foundation, the Mary Ann Beavers Education Support Fund and the Mary Ann Beavers Fund for Public Programming & Outreach for their dedication and stalwart support of the International Quilt Museum’s education programs.